Vale do Lobo
Golf resort
CountryPortugal
DistrictAlgarve
Websitewww.valedolobo.com

Vale do Lobo is a golf resort in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. Vale do Lobo comprises one of the three corners of the Golden Triangle of the Algarve's most affluent and expensive communities.

The community hosted the Portuguese Open, part of the PGA European Tour, in 2002 and 2003.

History

Vale do Lobo
Club information
LocationAlgarve, Portugal
Established1968
TypePrivate
Total holes36
Events hostedPortuguese Open (2002–03)
Royal Course
Designed byRocky Roquemore
Par72
Length6,059 metres
Ocean Course
Designed bySir Henry Cotton
Par73
Length6,137 metres

Vale do Lobo was among the first tourist resorts to be built in Portugal, having been catalysed by the Estado Novo's decision in 1962 to build Faro Airport[1] following the success in the 1950s of luxury Spanish resorts such as Torremolinos. In 1962, Trust House Forte acquired the land which became Vale do Lobo with the intention of turning it into a luxury resort. At the time, the region was a stone pine forest with a sand beach. Townhouses and villas were built for tourists and permanent foreign residents. An 18-hole golf course designed by Henry Cotton was built and Vale do Lobo quickly become a popular destination with the British market. In 1968, Trust House Forte and Costain Group opened the first five-star hotel in the Algarve, the Dona Filipa, named after Philippa of Lancaster, whose marriage to John I of Portugal confirmed the 700-year-old Anglo-Portuguese Alliance.

In 1977 the, Venlo-born, Dutch entrepreneur Sander van Gelder acquired the resort out of receivership, after it had struggled financially following the 1974 Carnation Revolution. He had originally intended to acquire just a small plot of land in the area, but ended up taking the opportunity to acquire the whole resort.[2] The resort was run under van Gelder's ownership for the next thirty years, adding another eighteen hole golf course and many facilities including bars, restaurants and shops. The resort hosted the Portuguese Open in 2002 and 2003.

In 2006 a combination of Portuguese and international investors together with the Portuguese state-owned bank Caixa Geral de Depósitos acquired the development from van Gelder, installing Diogo Gaspar Ferreira as CEO. Over the next four years, the consortium took out twelve loans to further develop the resort, for a total new debt of 249 million euros.[3] By the summer of 2015 all of these loans were in arrearage. Because five of these loans were from Caixa, at a time when Armando Vara was the bank's administrator, they were investigated as part of Operation Marquis,[3][4] and figured in the charges against José Sócrates and other Operation Marquis defendants.[5]

Golf Courses

Royal Course

Vale do Lobo Royal Course (meters)
Tee Rating/Slope 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Out 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In Total
Pro 72.7 / 133 3942873833134633951563881482927 32649433135236030322436632230786005
Reg 70.7 / 129 3602613702884503751263651332728 31547329934132728219034629528685596
Ladies 71.6 / 129 3172643092303713361012961022326 26240825931131225113328426024804806
Par 54445434336 4544443443672
SI 1513311711759 16212461810814


Vale do Lobo Royal Course (yards)
Tee Rating/Slope 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Out 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In Total
Pro 72.7 / 133 4313144193425064321714241623201 35754036238539433124540035233666567
Reg 70.7 / 129 3942854053154924101383991452983 34451732737335830820837832331366120
Ladies 71.6 / 129 3472893382524063671103241122544 28744628334034127414531128427125256
Par 54445434336 4544443443672
SI 1513311711759 16212461810814

Ocean Course

Vale do Lobo Ocean Course (meters)
Tee Rating/Slope 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Out 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In Total
Pro 74.1 / 140 4293494973811924161713853473167 43641337814434619548314441629556122
Reg 71.5 / 135 3992794573391634101663743262913 42538628313534417842913536726825595
Ladies 73.7 / 134 3592514092571403581493053042532 41335526510133213740412634024735005
Par 44543535437 5443435353673
SI 5131717915113 10261881241614


Vale do Lobo Ocean Course (yards)
Tee Rating/Slope 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Out 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In Total
Pro 74.1 / 140 4693825444172104551874213793463 47745241315737821352815745532326695
Reg 71.5 / 135 4363055003711784481824093573186 46542230914837619546914840129336119
Ladies 73.7 / 134 3932744472811533921633343322769 45238829011036315044213837227055474
Par 44543535437 5443435353673
SI 5131717915113 10261881241614

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vale do Lobo.
  1. ↑ "Sérgio Palma Brito: O Algarve às Sextas (2012.04.06)Penina e Vale do Lobo – Inovar em 1963".
  2. ↑ Webster, Jack (1985). "The Making of the Algarve". Glagow Herald.
  3. 1 2 Oliveira, Mariana (21 November 2015). "Empreendimento de Vale de Lobo deve cerca de 300 milhões de euros à Caixa". Público (in Portuguese). Comunicação Social, S.A. Archived from the original on 14 January 2017.
  4. ↑ Martins, Nuno André (8 June 2015). "Empreendimento em Vale do Lobo investigado no Caso Sócrates". Observador (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 9 June 2015.
  5. ↑ Oliveira, Mariana (9 February 2017). "Comissões de 200 mil recebidas por gestores envolvidos no caso Sócrates". Público (in Portuguese). Comunicação Social, S.A. Archived from the original on 9 February 2017.

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